Monday, April 15, 2013

The Morning After, a Roleplaying Adventure

J: Many questions have been asked down throughout the years, century after century, driving men's minds, spanning a millenia. Eternal questions like the daring "does a Scotsman wear anything under his kilt?" or the more thoughtful "why does fluff appear in my navel?" are raised. I wonder if Henry VIII asked himself that last question. But one that always puzzled me was "Can a LARPer (Live Action Role Player) party?"

And at the event, held at Victoria's Brickyard Pizza, Ed and I discovered yes, yes they can.

E: I should warn that anyone standing near them or just hanging out in the tight space at the rear of the shop to be ready to duck or swerve out of the way, especially when those medieval foot soldiers are drunk. In the group that showed up early, they were partying it up at 2 pm. But with a few errands for me to do in town, James and I took a bit of a break, We returned to find the group getting louder around 5:30 pm when the anticipation of food was looming near.

I could smell the delights of roast piglet coming from ... a pizza oven?

J: Our co-hosts Bill Code and Jeremy Sinclair knew how to top everyone up not only with beer but with sweet smelling food. Medieval food to be precise. And what knight, barbarian, monk, Robin Hood and ... Roman soldier could march (or steal from the rich) without a meal of roast suckling pig.

But pig wasn't the only food being served. The boisterous boys and very lovely ladies ate their fill with fat plump chicken and turkey legs, vegetable kebabs and every peasant's favourite: bread.

And for $15 per ticket it was cheap. I would've paid double the price.

E: But where's the mead? Well, not even Medieval Times, a big time operation that boasts entertainment (knights fighting and jousting) along with a meal, offers it. But I expect mead in this type of event!

J: Just to keep Ed happy I looked into this and sadly there wasn't enough suppliers of the good stuff for this event.

Medieval Chaos, whose members made up about 40 of the 50 guests, do have a member who makes mead but that's still not enough to wet everyone's whistle.

Ed would just have to satisfy himself with unlimited amounts of soda. Since he was the designated driver it would be his task to watch others enjoy their drinks and sing diddies written by Medieval Chaos' resident bard.

E: I was mildly reminded of an old game I used to play on the Commodore 64, The Bard's Tale, and wondered when the adventure would begin. Sitting around, drinking it up, sharing warrior's tales is one thing, but to go slay orcs and skeleton warriors in a danky cave was another. I liked the fact that Brickyard Pizza had the digs to pull off the look of being in a dungeon.

If the posters were not a permanent fixture, I'm sure more decor could have been done once they get taken down.

At this event, I knew what I was in for (I did not expect that there would be entertainment), and managed to start chatting with a few members of the group, once when they realized there were other people coming here to enjoy a medieval fest.

But during the event, I was distracted by one lovely lady who reminded me of Nymphadora Tonks. She can cast a spell on me any day.

The atmosphere created by this event was great, and I noticed that an entire family came down, all dressed up, to enjoy the festivities. However, the LARPers really took command of the night. I was glad to see that even Doctor Who arrived to put on a nifty magic show.

J: And thank goodness he didn't bring Amy Pond with him otherwise I would've asked him to make her disappear.

E: I would've asked him if he could turn the pig into a boar (after Toulouese, yes, I'm becoming a picky eater). I want my game meats. The food was very good for what it was; I didn't expect super tasty miracles when considering the food that fed peasents during the middle ages were generally nothing spectacular. Only kings feasted on well-spiced and roasted in a pit fire delights.

The event was all about bringing people out from various communities to enjoy camaraderie with newcomers to whatever theme night may happen.

I look forward to seeing what Pirate or Zombie inspired food creations will get made at the Brickyard Pizza's upcoming events. When considering James hasn't LARPed or eaten brain before, I'm sure he may start to brave strange new worlds. I just need to convince him to dress up in a leather skirt and dance around like a wildman honouring Bacchus.

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Just what happens when a student and a penny-pincher get together? They try to tear up the establishment for meals that can support their waistline without always having to break the bank. Now, they will be exploring what local culture and events are to be found -- dinner theater anyone?

Journey with them as they explore the other side of dining on a dollar with their own style of tongue-in-cheek humour.